What made you most nervous?

oh thy will, don't be surprised. I'v had my wife with me and whe poked her head out the window and was asked if she wanted "company"

 

Yes. From about the 390 to the I-275 split.

I'm still trying to figure out where I65 is in Knoxville though.

 

sorry, I-75. my bad

 

May not encounter much of this these days, but the things that made me nervous as a greenhorn driver:
1. Driving on bald/low tread tired
2. Gross vehicle weights of up to 50 tons
3. Dodging scales
4. Long, steep grades - we had no engine brakes, even wtih engine brakes some of those long grades can still be intense for new drivers - I've seen plenty of smoking brakes coming off a hill between Globe and Superior in Arizona (also seen a lot of truck crashes there, including seeing the aftermath of a couple of rigs that have gone over the side of a cliff)
5. Going through weigh stations. Always had a problem with that, until I just gave up on worrying about it and took the attitude of whatever may come, comes, oh well, deal with it.
6. Getting pulled over for inspection.
7. Driving way over legal hours, keeping several log books, trying to stay awake, seeing "things" in the road
But, that was my first company. Ummm, it didn't get much better at the second company, or the one after that.
In fact, it really seems like it took a LONG time for things to really 'get good'.
But, I still have good memories of the "good ole days" - which were crazy.

Good luck!

 

There are many non-driving situations that could make drivers nervous depending on their degree of social phobia. It starts with the job interview and DOT physical, and later, the annual review. There will be company meetings for all employees, and annual parties. There will be confrontational events such as impromptu job actions, and strikes. There will be union meetings and voting that bring out differences of opinion among a driver's co-workers. A driver may be asked to conduct a class on Hours of Service, or to give a road test.

I was nervous on the day laid-off drivers from our Rock Island and Ottawa terminals testified before the Illinois State Labor Commission. We had been denied unemployment compensation. Although nervous, I stated my case and eventually after being called back to work, our money came through.

 

My scariest moment was in 1994. I just left the tank wash in Pittsburg and was heading to a little town called Newell Pa. I was driving down State Road 51, and this was the first time I had ever been on this road. It also started to snow. The snow was that heavy slick kind that doesn't take too long to make driving a real challenge, so there I was just taking it real slow. Another truck past me and yelled out on the cb saying if I wanted to make it up the next hill I'd better increase my speed. Being in-experienced at the time I sped up and almost wiped out in the process. Now that I had made it up the hill (at a fairly decent speed) I needed to come back down the other side. Yeah I was going too fast, the jake wasn't doing squat, the brakes were locking up and I was rolling at about 45mph. About half way down the hill was a traffic light, it was still green for me but there was a car at the cross street waiting. I thought if I could just make it throught while green I think I'll be ok. Well guess what, yup it turned yellow. I tried the jake agin, nothing, no traction. The brakes really weren't helping all that much either. I tried down shifting but all that did was rev the engine so high I thought it was gonna blow. I kept in that gear firguring it was my only chance. Now with all the braking and loss of traction I started to jack-knife, and I had to keep hitting the accelarator to pull it out. I kept thinking was getting bad and I knew the light was gonna change to red before I hit the intersection. I was out out of control in a snow squawl going downhill towards a changing light with a 4wheeler waiting to go. Well the light turned red and I was still jack-knifing and pulling out of it, and I thought to myself I'm gonna kill this guy in the car in about 5 seconds. You know it's times like this where people talk about guardian angel's or the Lord having something better for you in life, but whatever it was that guy in the 4wheeler was watching all this take place and never moved. He just waited as I rolled through the intersection. I made it down the hill and came to a stop eventually and got out of the truck to get some fresh air. The rest of that run was uneventful but that was something that still brings chills and sweaty palms everytime I think about it.

 

I would have to say don't listen to some of these guys on the radio. If and when they find out your a greenhorn they can make everything seem so much worse. There is nothing that it too scary. THere is however stuff that you need to be aware of. I always heard horror stories from New York City and Chicago. If you just take it slow, forget about people trying to rush you you will be fine. To many drivers worry about that driver on the radio telling them to hurry up. Don't worry about it. If you pre plan and take your time you are going to have a good trip.

 

one by a longshot. Very funny after the fact. just picture that in a movie like smokey and the bandit. it fits right in .

 

It wasn't funny at the time. I think I got my first grey hair that day.

 

I did similar stuff when i first started out.